Complications
by Toxic Aria
Summary: Things are starting to fall into place. But in a world like this, there are always complications. * Preview!*


_**A/N Hello! This is a snippet from a series I'm working on, a crossover of Once Upon a Time, Riverdale, and Descendants. I'm posting this, for now, to see how well it's received and if people would like to read more from me. Feedback and comments are always welcome. Thanks, and enjoy!**_

That night she did not dream; Mal only woke. Drenched in a cold sweat she sat up a sudden, sharp pain sliced her insides from her lower half. She froze, her mind dead in thoughts. This can't be good, any night Mal slept without a dream was no doubt a bad omen. Bearing through scissoring pain she carefully lifted the sheets.

The bed felt unsettlingly empty while Evie was away. Mal wanted to beg her to stay; plead for her not to leave her pregnant girlfriend behind to fend for herself. What little there was of Mal's morality had prevented her from doing so. Fashion was everything to Evie and getting to design and debut a gown for Regina to wear at Stroybrooke's premiere event was the opportunity of a lifetime. Representatives from numerous realms were attending, so no doubt it would also be great publicity for her business. As sad as Mal was, she knew certain sacrifices had to be made. Betty and Toni attempted plenty of soothsaying and reassuring, with Mal's hormones being all over the place, that Evie would only be gone for a week. A week felt like an eternity to her, especially now.

Mal's current eternity was frozen in time. The sheets were wet, drenched even. This was puzzling, she was only three months into her pregnancy. Peeling back the layers, she was ambushed by a strong smell she knew unfortunately all too well. An overpowering scent of iron made her eyes water. Blood. And by the sheer intensity of the smell, there was a lot of it. Racing at unbelievable speeds her mind shut down and she did only what was instinctive. Mal's trembling hand reached to the side table and grabbed her phone. Her hands were shaking like mad, barely being able to bring up Betty's contact. Clutching her abdomen, she placed the phone against her cheek, completely unaware of her flooding tears.

The untouched screen of the cell was ice against her hot face. Through the repeating rings, Mal slowly moved from her statued position and started to hobble to the bathroom, leaving bits of bloody footprints in her wake. The pain flooding her abdomen was so intense that she almost didn't realize Betty had picked up after the third ring.

"Hello?" Betty's voice was groggy.

"Betty-"Mal gasped, a wave of sudden dizziness and nausea began to overtake her body.

"I-I need you and Toni to get over here…" Another sharp gasp.

"Like, right now. It's an emergency." In addition, faint sobs could be heard echoing through the line.

"Mal? Mal wha-"That was all Betty could manage before the call went dead.

"Betty" Toni whined. "What the hell is going on? Do you even know what time it is?!"

Obviously, she was grouchy; having to be woken up in the dead of night only to trudge over in the dark, in her pajamas, to climb endless stairs to reach Mal and Evie's studio apartment. Betty huffed.

"I told you, something isn't right. Mal called out of nowhere completely freaked."

Betty was tired as well, grasping the railing for support but fumbling over every few steps. Finally, they ascended to the top. Betty took a moment to regain her breath, then began to move her hands against the walls; sleepily feeling for the panel that hid the spare key. Her fingers felt the twitch of a loose tile. She pressed firmly and it slid like a revolving door, giving access to the spare apartment key.

The key slid easily into the door, granting them their entry. The place was dark but oddly warm; Mal's reptilian side must have urged her to turn the heat up while Evie was away. Faint speckles of light emerged from down around the corner, leading to Mal and Evie's master bedroom. The apartment was large and lofty, not to mention a maze during the night. Since trying to locate a light switch proved to be futile, the duo was guided by the ever-growing light.

Entering the bedroom, they could make nothing out of the ordinary, apart from ruffled sheets from where Mal once was. The bedroom did have a large window, but it was shrouded by dark curtains. Mal very much prefers dark spaces, and this once was certainly obscuring their vision. Beyond the large bed and to the right was the bathroom, the only space emitting light.

"Mal?" Betty called.

No reply. The two began to make their way toward the bathroom. Betty was halted when a firm, but sudden grasp took hold of her arm.

"Betty…."

Toni paused their route, she motioned to the floor. Being dimly lit by the overcast of the oncoming light, the wooden floor revealed bits and pieces of bloody prints staining the hue.

"Oh my god."

Concern swiftly evolved into panic as the two girls exchanged glances. They wasted no time in getting to the bathroom. It took a moment for their eyes to adjust to the sudden light, but the resulting scene was something of a nightmare.

There, against the wall, Mal sat. Blood was spread thin on the floor, but it was everywhere. The smell of iron was prominent. Mal gasped and threw her head back with painful sobs. Her lower half was sparingly covered with a towel, but the pool of blood seeping from underneath was impossible to ignore.

"Oh god." Betty was at Mal's side in a flash, trying to avoid getting her own feet bloodied. Toni followed as Mal's sobs grew.

"Mal, what the hell happened?" Betty panicked.

Through short breaths Mal opened her mouth to speak, but no words followed. Her mind was scrambled into mush and was being numbed by the pain and certain panic of the situation. While Mal could only clutch her abdomen, Betty knew there was no time to wait for a response that would never come. She looked up at Toni, also glazed in a panic.

"We need to get her to the hospital. Now."

Mal's head immediately jerked up; her face was red, and tear-stained, and her purple hair a mess with sweat. Her eyes widened and she vigorously shook her head. Indicating she was insistent on going nowhere. Suddenly she latched onto Betty as another intense shock wave of slicing pain seared her abdomen. Mal's forehead fell, almost lifelessly, onto the edge of Betty's shoulder. She flinched as Mal's nails dug into her skin.

Not wanting to wait around, Toni paced to the sink and grabbed a nearby washcloth; not caring if she ended up a bloodied. She ran it under cool water, then returned to Mal. Toni knelt close to her; she now had the back of her head pressed firmly against the wall.

"Mal, look at you. We can't just keep sitting here, you need help."

She dabbed the washcloth evenly around Mal's face. The cooling touch quickly morphed into warmth after being placed. However, the frigid sensation of the compress seemed to have helped. The tension in Mal's face eased and she spoke in short gasps.

"No- I-I know what's happening… I want to stay here."

There was a moment of pause. Mal closed her eyes, taking deep breaths, while Betty and Toni had a silent conversation with the sadness in their eyes. Betty took a shaky breath.

"okay. Can you stand? You have to at least get to the couch." Assuming the bed was already a bloodbath.

The pain seemed to have lessened and the seeping of blood came to a standstill. Mal faintly nodded her head.

"I think so."

She held tightly to Betty as they stood, Toni aided her other side for support. The change was intense, for Mal immediately faltered; feeling faint from just the sheer amount of blood loss. Betty and Toni both jumped, aiding Mal not to lose consciousness. Once they were grounded, Mal relied completely on Betty for support. Toni managed a quick sigh.

"You get her cleaned up and changed. I'll work in here."

Betty responded with a quick nod and headed back into the bedroom with Mal. Toni turned to see what Mal had left in her wake. The tile floor was a sea of red, littered with clots; one bigger than the rest. The sight was indeed gruesome, but all Toni felt was a tight grip on her heart and her chest get heavy. The air turned thick with woe. There was no doubt in her mind that what they just witnessed was an unfortunate miscarriage.

_**There you have it! Don't be afraid to let me know what you think and how you liked it! I'll be happy to answer any questions that come up, with this being only a small snippet.**_

_**Thanks,**_

_**Toxic Aria**_


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